The first few days in Jordan were exhausting. A tiring journey on a cramped Ryanair plane, followed by a drive in a car with an automatic transmission, which I drove for the first time in my life, through terrain completely unfamiliar to me, to a town called Madaba, where we spent our first night.

We arrived at our first night's accommodation exhausted, but it turned out there was a beer shop right next door, a rarity in Jordan. We didn't hesitate and bought ourselves a small Stella beer, which costs a lot there: 3 Jordanian dinars for a 0.33-liter beer.

A moment of relaxation, and we headed into town to discover what was essentially Madaba's only attraction: the archaeological museum, famous for its Byzantine mosaics carved into the ground.

Thanks to the Jordan Pass, admission was free, and since it was just before closing time, we were the only visitors with a guide.

The experience was frankly lackluster, as the museum is sparse and small, and our concentration was limited after the long and stressful car journey.

We did, however, visit the museum and then head into the city. The city was dirty and neglected, as it later turned out, just like all Jordanian cities, but the people were friendly and interesting, as we didn't encounter any white people there.

In the evening, we visited a local eatery that made excellent chicken showarma. We ordered dinner, and that was basically the peak of our first day's adventures.

The next day was already planned. We were going to Petra for two nights to see the famed rock formations and beautiful canyons.